Originally presented in 1963, this award was named the Red Auerbach Trophy in 1967 in honor of the coach who guided the Boston Celtics to eight consecutive NBA championships before retiring after the 1965-66 season.
| 1962-63 | Harry Gallatin, St. Louis |
| 1963-64 | Alex Hannum, San Francisco |
| 1964-65 | Red Auerbach, Boston |
| 1965-66 | Dolph Schayes, Philadelphia |
| 1966-67 | Johnny "Red" Kerr, Chicago |
| 1967-68 | Richie Guerin, St. Louis |
| 1968-69 | Gene Shue, Baltimore |
| 1969-70 | Red Holzman, New York |
| 1970-71 | Dick Motta, Chicago |
| 1971-72 | Bill Sharman, Los Angeles |
| 1972-73 | Tom Heinsohn, Boston |
| 1973-74 | Ray Scott, Detroit |
| 1974-75 | Phil Johnson, Kansas City-Omaha |
| 1975-76 | Bill Fitch, Cleveland |
| 1976-77 | Tom Nissalke, Houston |
| 1977-78 | Hubie Brown, Atlanta |
| 1978-79 | Cotton Fitzsimmons, Kansas City |
| 1979-80 | Bill Fitch, Boston |
| 1980-81 | Jack McKinney, Indiana |
| 1981-82 | Gene Shue, Washington |
| 1982-83 | Don Nelson, Milwaukee |
| 1983-84 | Frank Layden, Utah |
| 1984-85 | Don Nelson, Milwaukee |
| 1985-86 | Mike Fratello, Atlanta |
| 1986-87 | Mike Schuler, Portland |
| 1987-88 | Doug Moe, Denver |
| 1988-89 | Cotton Fitzsimmons, Phoenix |
| 1989-90 | Pat Riley, New York |
| 1990-91 | Don Chaney, Houston |
| 1991-92 | Don Nelson, Golden State |
| 1992-93 | Pat Riley, New York |
| 1993-94 | Lenny Wilkens, Atlanta |
| 1994-95 | Del Harris, Los Angeles Lakers |
| 1995-96 | Phil Jackson, Chicago |
| 1996-97 | Pat Riley, Miami |
| 1997-98 | Larry Bird, Indiana |
| 1998-99 | Mike Dunleavy, Portland |
| 1999-2000 | Glenn "Doc" Rivers, Orlando |
| 2000-2001 | Larry Brown, Philadelphia |
| 2001-2002 | Rick Carlisle, Detroit |
| 2002-2003 | Gregg Popovich, San Antonio |
| 2003-2004 | Hubie Brown, Memphis |
| 2004-2005 | Mike D'Antoni, Phoenix |
| 2005-2006 | Avery Johnson, Dallas |
| 2006-2007 | Sam Mitchell, Toronto |
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